EMDR Therapy
Our clients tend to be highly functional people with good things in their lives—stable relationships, friendships and meaningful work. And, they are living with trauma.
We want you to know that you're not alone. You are among millions of people struggling with their own lives and in their own ways.
Trauma symptoms can look like insomnia, intrusive memories, panic attacks, feeling unworthy or unlovable, anxiety, helplessness, sadness, unexplained aches and pains and more.
The good news is that you can heal from trauma. EMDR is one of the cutting edge approaches we use in our Los Angeles therapy practice to restore you to balance and help you feel focused and calm.
Why Do We Use EMDR?
EMDR helps the mind heal from psychological trauma much like the body heals from physical trauma.
Talk therapy alone is not enough for resolving trauma.
This is because talk therapy speaks directly to the most sophisticated part of the brain which controls all the executive functions like language, logic and strategy. We can get clarity about what happened to us and why, but this understanding doesn’t necessarily make us feel better.
With EMDR Therapy we literally create new neural pathways in the brain and are able to leave more positive beliefs about ourselves and the world.
The Neuroscience of Traumatic Memories
Upsetting memories and the lingering effects of trauma can last a lifetime if we don’t find a way to soften and integrate them.
The reason for this is physiological. Normally our experiences are stored in our short-term memory and then move into long-term memory, causing the clarity and impact of these memories to lessen over time. For instance, we remember what we did yesterday far more than what we did a week ago.
The memories can be of catastrophic events such as an assault, an abusive relationship, an accident. And, they can also be of small moments, things that we don’t think of as traumatic such as an unkind comment that you’ve never forgotten, a 4th grade embarrassment, or a social misstep. Often they hit us a jolt, lighting up our nervous systems and overtaking our thoughts, emotions and bodies.
These memories impact every sphere of our awareness.
Visual: A vivid picture can arise, like
The disapproving face of a teacher.
Angry voices talking over each other.
Emotions & Body Sensations: Some ways you might feel trauma in your body are:
Shame with its rapid upward spiral and red hot heat.
Anger with its clenched jaw and fists.
Fear frozen in shock or an overwhelming impulse to escape.
Sadness sinking into an already heavy heart.
Negative Thoughts: There’s no end to these in spite of how hard we try to quiet them. Here’s a few:
I’m bad.
I’m broken.
I’m alone.
Understanding EMDR and How It Can Help
In a relaxed, supported state, EMDR helps to create new neural pathways in the brain, moving the traumatic memories from the short-term memory into long-term memory.
You can literally change the memory of what happened.
Just as you had this memory and it strengthened through its repetition, it can lose its power to shock and throw you off base.
Let’s consider each of those categories above to see what EMDR can do to help to free you of these old, persistent memories.
Visual: The picture softens and blurs. It feels further away and the color often bleeds from it. Maybe you can no longer see the disapproving face; helpers may come in to be of assistance to you
Emotions & Body Sensations: The memory comes up less and your emotional response to it lessens. Often you lose interest in the event, even if it has previously been a story that informed your life. It is now stored in your long-term memory bank.
It finally feels in the past and you feel firmly in the present. You have an embodied sense of being safe and capable of handling difficult situations.
Negative Thoughts: The meaning of the event has shifted. Often new, positive beliefs arise spontaneously. I am safe. I did the best I could. I am worthy of love.
What is EMDR?
EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy is a highly effective trauma treatment and one that we’ve used for decades in our trauma therapy practice in Los Angeles.
This evidence-based therapy is the most researched of trauma therapies. It is grounded in neuroscience and has helped millions of people heal from trauma since its inception in the late 1980s.
How Does EMDR Work?
In EMDR sessions, you’ll focus on a memory chosen by you and your therapist while experiencing bilateral stimulation. Bilateral means “both sides,” in this case, both sides of the body.
This stimulation can take the form of your eyes following a light moving left to right, left to right. It can be holding small paddles that give you a short vibration, left hand to right hand, back and forth. Or it can be self-tapping guided by your therapist, left shoulder, right shoulder.
Neurologically this stimulation will immediately relax you, allowing you to go back into challenging memories without the usual charge that is so habitual. This softens the memory so it becomes less vivid and emotionally intense.
Over multiple sessions, the reprocessing begins, helping to repair the mental and emotional injury created by the trauma. This also starts to regulate your nervous system while moving you out of a state of fight, flight or freeze.
When the experience has been completely processed, you may still remember the memory but it won’t have the same charge. Free from feeling constantly activated, you’ll experience more positive thoughts and better emotional regulation. You’ll be more comfortable in your own skin and feel increased compassion for yourself and others.
EMDR Treatment
Paired with Other Therapies
at Cutting Edge Counseling
At Cutting Edge Counseling, we provide compassionate trauma support and know that sustained healing from trauma requires an expansive, thoughtful and integrated approach that includes mind, heart and body.
While EMDR therapy can help change the way a traumatic memory is stored in the brain, other modalities, such as Somatic Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy and Attachment Repair can help with other aspects of healing trauma and provide you with insight, additional tools and resources, and the most comprehensive care possible.
The cornerstone of effective trauma therapy is feeling safe and supported in your relationship with your therapist. As highly intuitive and attuned trauma therapists, we connect with who you are and what you’ve been through. From there, we develop a therapy plan that is specifically tailored to you—your history, the type of trauma, your personality and what resonates and feels good and right for you.
As you begin to perceive yourself differently in relation to the trauma, you can move further and further away from the traumatic experience, knowing that it is possible for you to feel worthy of compassion, support and a satisfying life.
EMDR Therapy & Trauma Treatment For Lasting Relief
We’re Stephanie
and Lee Ann.
We know both personally and professionally the effectiveness of EMDR and the ability of this tool to access the healing powers of the brain and body. With EMDR therapy, an integrated holistic healing plan, and the support of a compassionate and experienced trauma therapist, it truly is possible to leave trauma in the past and move on with your life.
If you are near us in Los Angeles or in California and interested in learning more about EMDR therapy, trauma therapy, PTSD treatment and our practice, please reach out. We work with people like you both in-person and online. We’re here to listen and support you on your path to healing, helping you move forward, feeling more alive and at ease in your mind, heart, body and life.
We Can Help. Call Us. It’s Free.
If you’re seeking Trauma Therapy or PTSD Treatment,
we invite you to call us for a free 15-minute phone consultation.
Call Stephanie at 310-339-5812 or Lee Ann at 310-980-8988.